FCPS picks outstanding partners for Golden Apple Awards

Author: Tammy Lane • First Posted: Thursday, September 22, 2011

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Bradley Stevenson, executive director of the Child Care Council, is flanked by Superintendent Tom Shelton and Lisa Higgins-Hord, assistant vice president for community engagement at the University of Kentucky.

Bradley Stevenson, executive director of the Child Care Council, is flanked by Superintendent Tom Shelton and Lisa Higgins-Hord, assistant vice president for community engagement at the University of Kentucky.

Bradley Stevenson, executive director of the Child Care Council, is flanked by Superintendent Tom Shelton and Lisa Higgins-Hord, assistant vice president for community engagement at the University of Kentucky.Bill Farmer, president of United Way of the Bluegrass, is flanked by Superintendent Tom Shelton and Lisa Higgins-Hord, assistant vice president for community engagement at the University of Kentucky.Abra Endsley, senior development manager with Junior Achievement; Sheri Evans Depp of Lexmark International and the JA board of directors; and Ron Wigglesworth, senior program manager with JA, are flanked by Superintendent Tom Shelton and Lisa Higgins-Hord, assistant vice president for community engagement at the University of Kentucky.Daniel Weeks, UK student volunteer in PLAY (Placing Leaders Among Youth); Lynda Frazier, 21st Century Community Learning Center grant manager at Martin Luther King Jr. Academy; Sarah Hermsmeier, assistant director of the Center for Community Outreach at the University of Kentucky; Laura Hatfield, executive director of Partners for Youth; and MLK Academy Principal Mark Sellers are flanked by Superintendent Tom Shelton and Lisa Higgins-Hord, assistant vice president for community engagement at the University of Kentucky.Rosz Akins of First Baptist Church Bracktown and Leestown Middle School Principal Jennifer Kendall are flanked by Superintendent Tom Shelton and Lisa Higgins-Hord, assistant vice president for community engagement at the University of Kentucky.Dixie Elementary PTA president Kathy Smiley, PSA Cheri Presley and Dixie parents Ushanda Starks and Tina Cornell are flanked by Superintendent Tom Shelton and Lisa Higgins-Hord, assistant vice president for community engagement at the University of Kentucky.

Fayette County Public Schools has handed out six more Golden Apple Awards to high-performance community partners who deliver an extraordinary commitment of time, energy and expertise to individual schools or the overall district.

 

Winners of the second annual awards were announced Sept. 22 at the Commerce Lexington Good Morning Bluegrass Breakfast at the Griffin Gate Marriott:

  • Community organizations/nonprofits – Child Care Council of Kentucky, United Way of the Bluegrass, and Junior Achievement of the Bluegrass (all for their districtwide initiatives)
  • Post-secondary institution – University of Kentucky’s Center for Community Outreach, in partnership with Martin Luther King Jr. Academy for Excellence
  • Faith-based organization – First Baptist Church Bracktown, in partnership with Leestown Middle School
  • School-based organization – Dixie PTA, in partnership with Dixie Magnet Elementary School

Other award categories include Business/Industry and Individual.

 

Details on the winners

Channel 13 video on demand

 

Supportive community members provide substantial time, funds and other resources to students, teachers and schools through hundreds of partnerships, mentorships, programs and initiatives in FCPS. Participants include businesses, faith-based organizations, civic clubs, post-secondary education institutions, government and nonprofit agencies, charitable organizations, individual volunteers, PTAs and other parent groups.

 

Through the Golden Apple Awards, the Community Partners Leadership Team aims to promote and encourage this strong support base in Lexington.

 

The team, which grew out of the 2020 Vision project, serves as a link between Fayette County Public Schools and the local community. The group is led by the school district’s family/community liaison, Alice Nelson, and includes representatives from some two dozen organizations as well as the school board.